Automatic couplers for rail vehicles



Oct. 12, 1965 E. J. WILSON ETAL 3,211,298

AUTOMATIC COUPLERS FOR RAIL VEHICLES Filed Jan. 29, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Inventor B m gjapmflxbjw w Attorney Oct. 12, 1965 E. J. WILSON ETAL AUTOMATIC COUPLERS FOR RAIL VEHICLES 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 29, 1965 lnvenlor I di aw M4 M W W) 4i M W I Attorney Oct. 12, 1965 E. J. WILSON ETAL 3,211,298

AUTOMATIC COUPLERS FOR RAIL VEHICLES Filed Jan. 29, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 /8 hwy/571x Oct. 12, 1965 E. J. WILSON ETAL 3,211,298

AUTOMATIC COUPLERS FOR RAIL VEHICLES Filed Jan. 29, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 In 'n or 4/ 45 2 'l I I My j,

B m,A/,4;14

Attorney Oct 1965 E. J. WILSON ETAL 3,2113

AUTOMATIC COUPLERS FOR RAIL VEHICLES Filed Jan. 29, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 lnventor 2%; @Ef/f/V A tforney United States Patent M 3,211,298 AUTOMATIC COUPLERS FOR RAIL VEHICLES Eric J. Wilson, Alan A. Briggs, and Brian J. Pinder,

Sheflield, England, assignors to English Steel Corporation Limited Filed Jan. 29, 1965, Ser. No. 429,054 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Nov. 4, 1964, 44,900/ 64 12 Claims. (Cl. 213-100) This invention relates to automatic couplers for rail vehicles, and more particularly to automatic couplers of the well-known Willison type in which a locking member is spring-urged outwardly from the body of the coupler to a locking position in which it is adapted to lie alongside the locking member of a similar mating coupler, in order to prevent withdrawal of a fixed nose on each coupler body from a recess in the body of the other coupler, and in which a forwardly-facing abutment is provided on the tail of the locking member for engagement by means operable from outside the coupler body for withdrawal of the locking member into the coupler body.

One object of the invention is to provide a Willison coupler with manually operable means for withdrawing the locking member, carried by the coupler itself and readily and easily operable from either side of the coupler.

Another object of the invention is to provide a Willison coupler with means for withdrawing the locking member and capable of holding the locking member withdrawn for shunting to be performed without recoupling taking place with a mating coupler, until the means for withdrawing the looking member is operated to effect its return to locking position.

Another object of the invention is to provide a Willison coupler with a minimum of moving parts, so as to eliminate as much as possible the deleterious effects of friction and of casting tolerances. The use of machined parts or of synthetic plastic materials is not, however, precluded in avoiding undue frictional resistance or looseness of parts liable to result in difficulty of operation, wear or damage.

Another object of the invention is to provide a Willison coupler with means for withdrawing the locking member operable by a simple track-mounted device.

A further object of the invention is to provide a Willison coupler with means for withdrawing the locking member and returning the locking member to locking position operable by one and the same type of simple track-mounted device with either direction of travel of the coupler over the track-mounted device.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a Willison coupler with means for withdrawing the locking member by manual operation as Well as by a trackmounted device.

According to the present invention, an automatic coupler of the Willison type for rail vehicles comprises a vertical spindle extending from the inside to the outside of the coupler body, a cam inside the coupler body rotatable by the spindle and provided with two equal diametrically-opposed lifts, a vertical pivot inside the coupler body, a bell-crank lever on the pivot with one arm engaging the forwardly-facing abutment on the tail of the locking member and with the other arm engaging the cam, and laterally extending means on the external part of the spindle for effecting rotation of the spindle to cause one of the lifts of the cam to rock the bell-crank lever and thereby withdraw the locking member into the coupler body.

The arm of the bell-crank lever engaging the abutment is preferably profiled so as to maintain contact substan- 3,211,298 Patented Oct. 12, 1965 tially on the axis of the tail, thereby reducing any tendency to subject the locking member to any lateral forces, such as would alter the frictional resistance to Withdrawal of the locking member or such as would be liable to damage the tail of the looking member.

The cam and the arm of the bell-crank lever engaging the cam are preferably arranged so as to the self-holding in the position corresponding to the withdrawn position of the locking member, to permit shunting to be performed without recoupling taking place with a at g coupler until the laterally extending means on the spindle is operated to effect appropriate rotation of the cam. Thus, the arm of the bell-crank lever engaging the cam may be provided with a detent corresponding to the peaks of the lifts of the cam, to be held in engagement by the urge of the spring acting on the locking member transmitted through the arm of the bell-crank lever engaging the abutment on the tail of the locking member. Alternatively, and preferably, the cam profile comprises two short fiat faces connected by a long fiat face, with the long face closer to the axis of the spindle than the two short faces, which are equidistant from the axis of the spindle and, therefore, constitute the lifts of the cam, and the arm of the bell-crank lever engaging the cam is provided with a pair of flat faces, one for engaging the long flat face of the cam, and the other for engaging the short flat faces of the cam after rotation of the latter. The short flat faces are preferably perpendicular to the long flat face, so that the corners between the faces constitute pronounced peakseven though they are preferably rounded-off slightlyof appreciably lgreater lift than the short flat faces themselves. A separate spring catch may be provided to assist in or alone to effect holding of the cam and bell-crank lever in their dilferent operative positions.

Two embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which FIGURE 1 is a plan of two automatic couplers of the Willison type intended for manual operation and shown mated together, but with coupler set for release of the mating coupler;

FIGURES 2 and 3 are enlarged vertical sections on the lines IIII and III-III respectively of FIGURE 1';

FIGURE 4 is a combination of the horizontal sections on the lines 1Va-IVa and IVb-IVb of FIGURES 2 and 3 respectively;

FIGURE 5 corresponds to FIGURE 1, but shows couplers of the Willison type intended primarily for operation by track-mounted devices;

FIGURE '6 is an enlarged vertical section on the line VIVI of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is an underneath view of FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 8 is a horizontal section corresponding to FIGURE 5, taken at the level of the line VIIIVIII of FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 9 is a perspective view of a track-mounted device for operating the couplers of FIGURES 5 to 8; and

FIGURE 10 is a part-sectional fragmentary plan showing the r ght-hand end of the device of FIGURE 9.

In FIGURES 1 to 4, each of a pair of Willison type couplers A, B has a fixed nose 11 for engagement in a recess 12 extending behind a vertical guide surface 13 on the other, the upper side of each recess being closed by a fixed cheek 14 limiting appreciable relative vertical movement between the couplers when mated. A locking member 15 in each coupler has a tail 16 integral with a head 17 and is urged by a spring 18 towards a position in which the head can lie alongside the head of the locking member of a similar mating coupler, the two heads together substantially filling the space between the fixed noses 11 in order to prevent withdrawal of either nose from the corresponding recess 12. The locking member of the coupler A is shown in this position, while the locking member of the coupler B is shown withdrawn with the head 17 in a position in which relative lateral movement between the couplers is permitted for the noses 11 to be withdrawn from their respective recesses 12. The body 19 of each coupler has a hollow portion 20 which houses the tail 16 of the locking member and extends from just behind the recess 12 to just forward of the forked end 21 of the body which is usually pivotally secured by a bolt (not shown) to the usual head of the draw-bar of a rail vehicle. One end 22 of a slot 23 in the tail 16 of the locking member 15 constitutes a forwardly-facing abutment for engagement by means (about to be described) operable from outside the coupler body for withdrawal of the head of the locking member into the coupler body.

A bell-crank lever 24 on a vertical pivot 25 inside each coupler body has one arm 26 engaging the abutment 22 on the tail 16 of the locking member 15 and the other arm 27 engaging a cam 28, which is rotatable by a vertical spindle 29 having an extension 30 above the coupler body 19 provided with an arm 31 ending in an eye 32 for engagement by a shunters pole (not shown). The axis of the spindle 29 is substantially central of the coupler body 19 and the cam 28 lies above the tail 16 of the locking member 15, the arms 26, 27 of the bellcrank lever 24 extending appropriately from the lower and upper ends respectively of a shank 33 on the vertical pivot 25. The cam profile comprises two short fiat faces 34 connected by a long fiat face 35, with the long face closer to the axis of the spindle 29 than the two short faces, which are equidistant from the axis of the spindle and, therefore, constitute diametrically-opposed lifts of the cam, and the arm 27 is provided with a pair of fiat faces 36, 37, one (36) for engaging the long flat face of the cam, when the mechanism occupies the position shown in coupler A in FIGURE 4 with the head 17 of the locking member 15 in locking position, and the other (37) for engaging one of the short flat faces 34 of the cam, depending on the direction of rotation of the cam by means of the arm 31, to effect rocking of the lever 24 for effecting withdrawal of the head 17 of the locking member 15 into the coupler body, the mechanism then occupying the position shown in coupler B in FIGURE 4. The short fiat faces are perpendicular to the long face, so that the corners 38 between the faces constitute pronounced peaks-even though they are rounded-off slightlyof appreciably greater lift than the short flat faces themselves, so that the cam 28 and arm 27 are self-holding in the position corresponding to the withdrawn position of the locking member, i.e., when the face 37 on the arm 27 is engaging one of the faces 34 on the cam. The extension 30 of the spindle 29 is square, and a spring 39 carried by the pivot 25 below a head 40 bears on the square extension to assist in holding of the cam 28 and bell-crank lever 24 in their different operative positions.

Each arm 31 can be swung through 90 in either direction from a central position parallel with the coupler axis (in which position the locking member is in locking position--coupler A in FIGURES 1, 2 and 4and the face 36 on the arm 27 is engaging the face 35 on the cam), so that the locking member either or both of a mating and locked pair of couplers can be withdrawn by pulling on the eye 32 of the (or each) arm 31 from the nearside of the couplers. The urge of the spring 18 on the locking member, towards locking position, assists return of the arm 31 (with appropriate rotation of the cam 28) to the central position, so that this can be effected without difficulty even though it may require that the eye 32 of the (or each) arm 31 has to be pushed to initiate the return movement.

The arm 26 of each bell-crank lever 24 is profiled so as to maintain contact with the abutment 22 substantially on the axis of the tail 16, thereby reducing any tendency to subject the locking member 15 to any lateral forces, such as would alter the frictional resistance to withdrawal or as would be liable to damage the tail 16.

In FIGURES 5 to 8 like reference numerals represent like parts, while the suffix X denotes parts which show some modification.

The laterally-extending means in FIGURES 5 to 8 is a rotor 41 having four arms 42 for engagement one only at a time by a lateral projection 43 on a track-mounted device 44 (FIGURES 9 and 10), as will be described presently. The rotor 41 is carried by an extension 30X of the spindle 29X below the coupler body 19, and the cam 28X is provided with a second long fiat face 35X parallel to the first long fiat face 35 and equidistant from the axis of the spindle, the pairs of flat faces 34, 34 and 35, 35X being perpendicular to each other so that of rotation of the cam effects movement of the locking member 15 between locking position (as in coupler A in FIGURES 6 and 8) and withdrawn position (as in coupler B in FIGURE 8). The spindle 29X intersects the axis of the coupler body, so that the one form of trackmounted device 44 with its single lateral projection is effective for withdrawing the locking member and returning the locking member to locking position with either direction of travel over the track-mounted device, the cam 28X lying below the tail 16 of the locking member, and the arms 26, 27 of the bell-crank lever 24X extending appropriately from the upper and lower ends respectively of the shank 33 on the pivot 25X. The rotor 41 is provided with a cylindrical downward extension 45 for location in a groove 46 (FIGURES 9 and 10) extending centrally along the track-mounted device 44 parallel to the track, for guiding the rotor past and into engagement with the lateral projection 43 on the device.

The extension 30X of the spindle 29X is again square, and a spring 47 (FIGURE 7), carried by a bracket 48 on the underside of the coupler body 19, has a hooked end 49 for engagement with a corner of the extension to assist in holding of the cam 28X and bell-crank lever 24X in their different operative positions.

In addition to the rotor 41 for rocking the bell-crank lever 24X through the intermediary of the cam 28X, the bell-crank lever 24X is secured to its pivot 25X and the latter extends upwardly from the coupler body 19, to carry a lateral arm 50 ending in an eye 51 for engagement by a shunters pole (not shown), the arm 50 being movable by a pull from one side of the coupler from a midposition in line with the axis of the coupler (as in coupler A in FIGURE 5) and corresponding to the locking position of the locking member 15, for effecting temporary withdrawal of the locking member (that is, without movement of the cam) for shunting with the locking member automatically reset to locking position upon release of the pull on the arm 50. One arm 50 of a pair of engaged couplers is always available for pulling regardless of from which side the couplers are approached. Furthermore, the position of the arm 50 of a coupler readily indicates the position of the locking member of that coupler.

Although the limited space available within the coupler body, especially in width, dictates that the lift of the double-lift cam must be appreciably less than movement. of the locking member, the bell-crank lever enables by' appropriate dimensioning of its arms the longer move-- ment to be derived from the shorter lift. The mechanical disadvantage of the bell-crank lever can be offset by an appropriate advantage between the lateral arm on the spindle or the arms of the rotor on the spindle and the lift of the double-lift cam, without these external parts extending beyond the side limits of the coupler.

In FIGURES 9 and 10, the lateral projection 43 and the groove 46 are provided on a shoe 52 located in a wide shallow groove 53 in a carrier 54, the shoe being removably secured by a plate 55 overlapping the lower sides of a slot 56 in the carrier and held by screws 57 to two projections 58 on the shoe depending into the slot 56.

A pair of journals 59 extending downwardly and outwardly from side flanges 60 of the carrier are pivoted on pins 61 carried by a pair of journal brackets 62 bolted on a base plate 63 in the bottom of a well 64 between the rails 65 of a track along which will pass vehicles with couplers as in FIGURES 5 to 8. Below the level of the pivots 61, a braced lever arm 66 extends to a pivotal connection 67 with the outer end 68 of a plunger 69 projecting from a cylinder 70 housing a pre-loaded compression spring 71, which at one end abuts against an end plug 72 of the cylinder and the other end abuts an enlarged head 73 on the inner end of the plunger, to urge the enlarged head towards an annular shoulder 74 around a bore 75 in an end cap 76 through which the plunger extends. The end plug 72 has an external lug 77 pivoted between a pair of upstanding lugs 78 on a bracket 79 bolted to the baseplate 63 in such a position that the carrier 54 and shoe 52 are in horizontal, operative, position when the enlarged head 73 abuts the annular shoulder 74.

The groove 46 flares out at each end of the shoe 52 to form mouths 80 for gathering in the projections 45 of the rotors 41 on the couplers in either direction of travel over the device. The lateral projection 43 is protected from damage by any obstructed part of a vehicle passing over the device (such as a dummy axle of the vehicle) by upstanding ribs 81 defining a broad channel 82 through which the rotors 41 are free to pass aligned centrally by their cylindrical projections 45 guided into and through the groove 46 disposed centrally in the bottom of the channel 82. The upper surfaces of the ribs are inclined downwardly at 83, 84 towards the leading and trailing ends respectively of the shoe 52the inclination being extended to the adjacent surfaces 85, 86 respectively of the carrier 54-so that depression of the carrier and shoe into the well 64 (as permitted by the pivotal mounting and spring loading) and return to operative position will take place progressively and smoothly as an obstructed part of a vehicle encounters the device and passes over 1t.

What we claim is:

1. An automatic coupler of the Willison'type for rail vehicles in which a locking member is spring-urged outwardly from the body of the coupler to a locking position in which it is adapted to lie alongside the locking member of a similar mating coupler, in order to prevent withdrawal of a fixed nose on each coupler body from a recess in the body of the other coupler, and in which a forwardly-facing abutment is provided on the tail of the locking member for engagement by means operable from outside the coupler body for withdrawal of the locking member into the coupler body, compris ng a vertical spindle extending from the inside to the outside of the coupler body, a cam inside the coupler body rotatable by the spindle, two equal anddiametncally-opposed lifts on the cam, a vertical pivot inside the coupler body, a bell-crank lever on the pivot, with one arm of the bell-crank lever engaging the forwardly-faclng abutment on the tail of the locking member and the other arm engaging the cam, and laterally-extending actuating means on the external part of the spindle for effecting rotation of the spindle.

2. An automatic coupler as in claim 1, wherein the arm of the bell-crank lever engaging the forwardly-facing abutment on the tail of the locking member is profiled so as to maintain contact substantially on the axis of the tail.

3. An automatic coupler as in claim 1, wherein the cam and the arm of the bell-crank lever engaging the cam are profiled so as to be self-holding in the position corresponding to the withdrawn position of the locking member.

4. An automatic coupler of the Willison type for rail vehicles in which a locking member is spring-urged outwardly from the body of the coupler to a locking position in which it is adapted to lie alongside the locking member of a similar mating coupler, in order to prevent withdrawal of a fixed nose on each coupler body from a recess in the body of the other coupler, and in which a forwardly-facing abutment is provided on the tail of the locking member for engagement by means operable from outside the coupler body for withdrawal of the locking member into the coupler body, comprising a vertical spindle extending from the inside to the outside of the coupler body, a cam inside the coupler body rotatable by the spindle, a vertical pivot inside the coupler body, a bellcrank lever on the pivot, with one arm of the bell-crank lever engaging the forwardly-facing abutment on the tail of the locking member and the other arm engaging the cam, two short flat faces and a long flat face on the cam, with the long face connecting the short faces and lying closer to the axis of the spindle than the two short faces, and with the two short faces equidistant from the axis of the spindle so as to constitute equal lifts on the cam profile, and a pair of flat faces on the arm of the bell-crank lever engaging the cam for engagement respectively with the long flat face and either of the short flat faces, and latenally-extending actuating means on the external part of the spindle for effecting rotation of the spindle.

5. An automatic coupler as in claim 4, wherein. the short flat faces are perpendicular to the long fiat face.

6. An automatic coupler of the Willison type for rail vehicles in which a locking member is spring-urged outwardly from the body of the coupler to a locking position in which it is adapted to lie alongside the locking member of a similar mating coupler, in order to prevent withdrawal of a fixed nose on each coupler body from a recess in the body of the other coupler, and in which a forwardly-facing abutment is provided on the tail of the locking member for engagement by means operable from outside the coupler body for withdrawal of the locking member into the coupler body, comprising a vertical spindle extending from the inside to the outside of the coupler body, a cam inside the coupler body rotatable by the spindle, two equal and diametrically-opposed lifts on the cam, a vertical pivot inside the coupler body, a bell-crank lever on the pivot, with one arm of the bell-crank lever engaging the forwardly-facing abutment on the tail of the locking member and the other arm engaging the cam, laterallyextending actuating means on the external part of the spindle for effecting rotation of the spindle, and a spring catch for holding the cam and bell-crank lever in their different operative positions.

7. An automatic coupler of the Willison type for rail vehicles in which a locking member is spring-urged outwardly from the body of the coupler to a locking position in which it is adapted to lie alongside the locking member of a similar mating coupler in order to prevent withdrawal of a fixed nose on each coupler body from a recess in the body of the other coupler, and in which a forwardlyfacing abutment is provided on the tail of the locking member for engagement by means operable from outside the coupler body for withdrawal of the locking member into the coupler body, comprising a vertical spindle extending from the inside to the outside of the coupler body, a cam inside the coupler body rotatable by the spindle, a vertical pivot inside the coupler body, a bell-crank lever on the pivot, with one arm of the bell-crank lever engaging the forwardly-facing abutment on the tail of the locking member and the other arm engaging the cam, two short flat faces and a long flat face on the cam with the long face connecting the short faces and lying closer to the axis of the spindle than the two short faces, and with the two short faces equidistant from the :axis of the spindle so as to constitute equal lifts on the cam profile, a pair of flat faces on the arm of the bell-crank lever engaging the cam for engagement respectively with the long flat face and either of the short flat faces, laterally-extending actuating means on the external part of the spindle for effecting rotation of the spindle, and a spring catch to assist in holding the cam and bell-crank lever in their different operative positions.

8. An automatic coupler of the Willison type for rail vehicles in which a locking member is spring-urged outwardly from the body of the coupler to a locking position in which it is adapted to lie alongside the locking member of a similar mating coupler, in order to prevent withdrawal of a fixed nose on each coupler body from a recess in the body of the other coupler, and in which a forwardly-facing abutment is provided on the tail of the locking member for engagement by means operable from outside the coupler body for withdrawal of the locking member into the coupler body, comprising a vertical spindle extending from the inside to the outside of the coupler body, a cam inside the coupler body rotatable by the spindle, two equal and diametrically-opposed lifts on the cam, a vertical pivot inside the coupler body, a bell-crank lever on the pivot, with one arm of the bell-crank lever engaging the forwardly-facing abutment on the tail of the locking member and the other arm engaging the cam, an actuating arm extending laterally from the external part of the spindle, and an eye at the free end of the actuating arm, the arm being movable in either direction from a mid-position in line with the axis of the coupler body and corresponding to the locking position of the locking memher.

9. An automatic coupler as in claim 8, wherein the axis of the spindle is substantially central of the coupler body and the cam lies above the tail of the locking member, the arms of the bell-crank lever extending appropriately from the lower and upper ends respectively of a shank on the vertical pivot.

10. An automatic coupler of the Willison type for rail vehicles in which a locking member is spring-urged outwardly from the body of the coupler to a locking position in which it is adapted to lie alongside the locking member of a similar mating coupler, in order to prevent withdrawal of a fixed nose on each coupler body from a recess in the body of the other coupler, and in which a forwardly-facing abutment is provided on the tail of the locking member for engagement by means operable from outside the coupler body for withdrawal of the locking member into the coupler body, comprising a vertical spindle extending from the inside to the outside of the coupler body, a cam inside the coupler body rotatable by the spindle, a vertical pivot inside the coupler body, a bellcrank lever on the pivot, with one arm of the bell-crank lever engaging the forwardly-facing abutment on the tail of the locking member and the other arm engaging the cam, two parallel short fiat faces and two parallel long flat faces on the cam, with the long faces perpendicular to the short faces and lying closer to the axis of the spindle than the short faces, and with the two short faces equidistant from the axis of the spindle so as to constitute equal lifts on the cam profile, a pair of fiat faces on the arm of the bell-crank lever engaging the cam for engagement respectively with either of the long faces and either of the short faces, an extension of the spindle below the coupler body, and a four-armed rotor on the extension for actuation by a lateral projection on a track-mounted device.

11. An automatic coupler as in claim 10, wherein the bell-crank lever is secured to its pivot and the latter extends upwardly f-rom the coupler body, with an actuating arm extending laterally from the upper end of the pivot, and an eye at the free end of the actuating arm, the arm being movable from a mid-position in line with the axis of the coupler and corresponding to the locking position of the locking member.

12. An automatic coupler of the Willison type for rail vehicles in which a locking member is spring-urged outwardly from the body of the coupler to a locking position in which it is adapted to lie alongside the locking member of a similar mating coupler, in order to prevent withdrawal of a fixed nose on each coupler body from a recess in the body of the other coupler, and in which a forwardly-facing abutment is provided on the tail of the locking member for engagement by means operable from outside the coupler body for withdrawal of the locking member into the coupler body, comprising a vertical spindle extending from the inside to the outside of the coupler body, a cam inside the coupler body rotatable by the spindle, a vertical pivot inside the coupler body, a bell-crank lever on the pivot, with one arm of the bellcrank lever engaging the forwardly-facing abutment on the tail of the locking member and the other arm engaging the cam, two parallel short flat faces and two parallel long fiat faces on the cam, with the long faces perpendicular to the short faces and lying closer to the axis of the spindle than the short faces, and with the two short faces equidistant from the axis of the spindle so as to constitute equal lifts on the cam profile, a pair of flat faces on the arm of the bell-crank lever engaging the cam for engagement respectively with either of the long faces and either of the short faces, an extension of the spindle below the coupler body, a four-armed rotor on the extension of the spindle for actuation by a lateral projection on a trackmounted device, and a cylindrical downward extension of the rotor co-axial with the spindle, with the spindle intersecting the axis of the coupler body, the cam lying below the tail of the locking member, and the arms of the bellcrank lever extending appropriately from the upper and lower ends respectively of a shank on the vertical pivot.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,647,498 11/27 Anliker et al 2l3-l00 1,990,887 2/35 Wittmer et a1 21310O 3,132,749 5/64 WhitehOuSe et al. 213223 ARTHUR L. LA POINT, Primary Examiner. 

1. AN AUTOMATIC COUPLER OF THE "WILLISON" TYPE FOR RAIL VEHICLES IN WHICH A LOCKING MEMBER IS SPRING-URGED OUTWARDLY FROM THE BODY OF THE COUPLER TO A LOCKING POSITION IN WHICH IT IS ADAPTED TO LIE ALONGSIDE THE LOCKING MEMBER OF A SIMILAR MATING COUPLER, IN ORDER TO PREVENT WITHDRAWAL OF A FIXED NOSE ON EACH COUPLER BODY FROM A RECESS IN THE BODY OF THE OTHER COUPLER, AND IN WHICH A FORWARDLY-FACING ABUTMENT IS PROVIDED ON THE TAIL OF THE LOCKING MEMBER FOR ENGAGEMENT BY MEANS OPERABLE FROM OUTSIDE THE COUPLER BODY FOR WITHDRAWAL OF THE LOCKING MEMBER INTO THE COUPLER BODY, COMPRISING A VERTICAL SPINDLE EXTENDING FROM THE INSIDE TO THE OUTSIDE OF THE COUPLER BODY, A CAM INSIDE THE COUPLER BODY ROTATABLE BY THE SPINDLE, TWO EQUAL AND DIAMETRICALLY-OP POSED LIFTS ON THE CAM, A VERTICAL PIVOT INSIDE THE COUPLER 